


Mighty One

by Triscribe



Series: Inspired by Fia [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Mythology - Freeform, Tatooine Slave Culture, world-building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 00:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19139815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triscribe/pseuds/Triscribe
Summary: Did you know, long before she became the Great Dragon of the desert, that Ekkreth's eldest daughter could have been mistaken for a small white lizard?





	Mighty One

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fialleril](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fialleril/gifts).



Listen closely, for I tell you this story to save your life.

One day, as Ekkreth was going along, they heard a strange sound coming from the canyons, a rumbling unlike any other noise in the great desert. Curious, the shapeshifter walked closer, entering the stone cliffs and wandering through them in an attempt to find the source. The further they walked, however, the weaker the sound became, smaller and softer and more difficult to follow - but Ekkreth continued on even as the twin suns rose higher and the sands grew hotter.

Finally, at midday, they found a tiny cleft in the very heart of the canyons. And perched within that cut in the stone was what Ekkreth would have called a little white lizard, but for the delicate wings upon its back and the miniscule crown of horns upon its head.

“And just what manner of creature are you, I wonder?” Ekkreth mused, crouching before the cleft to better study the thing inside. Said thing peered back, beady black eyes blinking, before it coughed - a quiet chuff which, Ekkreth realized, was the sound they’d been following, echoed and amplified by the twisting passages of the canyons. Amused to discover that the mighty noise came from such a tiny source, they laughed.

The lizard-thing startled at the sound, stumbling to its feet and raising both wings and tail. Ekkreth immediately tried to muffle their chuckling.

“A-hah, heh, I’m sorry, little one. I did not mean to alarm you.” Even so, the creature hissed, stretching its limbs to try and appear even fiercer. Delighted by the show of defiance, Ekkreth made a small decision, the impact of which would change them forever.

“Here now, mighty one, calm yourself. Perhaps if I make you an offering you will see I am friend and not foe?” That said, the shapeshifter reached into the pouches hung from their belt, pulling forth both a waterskin and a small bowl the size of their palm. The little lizard-thing ceased hissing the instant the skin was opened, though the tail and wings remained raised. Ekkreth offered forward the half-full bowl, maintaining eye contact as they did so.

Oddly, however, the creature did not step forward to drink. Instead, its scales rippled, and tiny jaws champed open and shut while it continued to glare at the shapeshifter. Growing more bemused by the moment, Ekkreth set the bowl just inside the entrance of the cleft. Only once they’d removed their hand completely and shuffled back a few paces did the lizard-thing snort in approval. It then sniffed all around the bowl, inspecting the carved bone, before dipping its head inside to drink.

Ekkreth did not move this entire time, too fascinated to even contemplate such a thing. Such suspicion in one of the Great Mother’s children they’d never seen before!

Finally, the little thing finished lapping up every drop of water, immediately raising its head to again watch the shapeshifter. Rather than simply retreating from the bowl, however, it bit the edge, and proceeded to drag the entire vessel deeper into the cleft.

Ekkreth blinked.

The creature wedged the newly acquired bowl into the deepest recess in the stone, then sat directly in front of it, and chirped, smugly.

Ekkreth blinked again.

Then, slowly, but with growing passion, they laughed.

-Mighty One-

For the next three days and nights, Ekkreth remained camped in front of the cleft in the heart of the canyons, determined beyond reason to win some form of connection with the tiny thief. They offered more water, in a varying selection of nut shells, some of which the creature kept while others were thrown back with haughty snorts. They also offered food, starting with chopped bits of ansar root and mushrooms and moving on to dried insects and half of a freshly caught sand-snake (the rest of which Ekkreth kept to personally eat). Everything edible was accepted and rapidly devoured, and, evidently, just as rapidly metabolized.

When Ekkreth had first found the little creature, it was small enough to sit in their palm, with plenty of room within the cleft to scuttle about. By the start of the third night, though, it had more than tripled in size, and practically filled the miniature cave entirely.

“You must be a baby,” Ekkreth murmured when they laid down to sleep, “Or else a terrifyingly clever parasite, taking a form that entreats any passers-by to feed you.” They soon dozed off, still wearing a smile.

As the night passed, however, a cool wind started up, dropping the temperature even further than usual. Ekkreth, despite being wrapped in the entirety of their cloak and bedroll, began to shiver.

And the creature noticed.

Silently, it slipped down from the cleft, and hesitantly took a step onto the sandy floor of the canyon. Nostrils flaring and wings half-raised in wariness, it cautiously crept forward, pausing every few steps to sniff the air. Something in the wind called to it, filling the little creature’s wings and lifting them further, but an older voice from the bedrock deep below offered caution, advised patience. Chuffing, the creature dismissed them both, finishing its journey to Ekkreth’s huddled form.

When the shapeshifter awoke at the next dawn, they were shocked to find the little white creature cuddled close, pressed against their torso and radiating a pleasant warmth.

-Mighty One-

Soon after, Ekkreth departed the canyons with a new companion perched upon their shoulders.

-Mighty One-

“We could call you Terukreth, the Rockstrider,” Ekkreth said one evening, as they watched their charge stalk across a bare patch of bedrock. She shot them an unamused look over her shoulder, before continuing on with the Very Important Hunting Practice. “Or perhaps Atruaberatu, the Windsong, is more to your liking.”

A bit of sand was flicked towards their face, and Ekkreth laughed, changing subjects.

-Might One-

The first time that their child cooked the spider she’d caught with a burst of golden flame, Ekkreth was struck with another idea. “Bakummakar,” they said. “The Firestorm.”

Munching teeth paused, and her head tilted to one side in consideration. After a few moments, though, she snorted, and returned to eating.

-Mighty One-

“Sikataku,” Ekkreth quietly offered one dawn, after the flames and shrieks of joyful greeting had died away, “The Suncaller.”

Her shoulders of a height with her guardian’s chest, the child sat beside them and spent several minutes contemplating the possible name. Eventually, though, she shook her head with a puff of smoke. Ekkreth hummed thoughtfully and leaned against her warm scales, the both of them watching the twin suns rise higher and higher. 

They’d found a new oasis to camp near, and were content to stay put for the day. As more time passed, however, Ekkreth could feel something building - a whisper in the wind, a smile in the sand, a tension coiling through their daughter’s form.

When the suns were directly overhead, at their whitest and brightest, the child stood, pushing up to balance on just two of her legs, wings spread wide and head tilted to face the sky. She roared, beating her wings once, twice, stirring up a miniature storm. Ekkreth had to turn away to shield their face.

When things finally settled and they could turn back, Ekkreth spied something in their daughter’s eyes - a new shine, a spark that had been previously absent.

“L-ei-i-i-ah!” She shrieked. The sound raced across the desert, sending shudders through the grains of sand and bones of mountains alike.

“Leia,” Ekkreth breathed in awe. “Mighty One.”

_Mighty One,_ the desert agreed. _Welcome, great dragon, eldest daughter of the Skywalker._

Leia dropped back to all fours, her head peeking under one wing to peer at Ekkreth. They laughed, arms opening wide. With a soft chuff, the young dragon sidled over to push her head into their torso. 

“My beautiful daughter,” Ekkreth murmured, stroking a hand against pure white scales. “You knew all along what your name was going to be, didn’t you?”

A rumbling purr answered them.

-Mighty One-

“I am going to fly tomorrow.”

“Mm.”

“Did you hear me, Parent?” Leia circled around their campsite, tail flicking to make spirals in the sand behind her. “I said I am going to fly tomorrow.”

“Yes, I heard you.” Ekkreth did not look up from the ripped cloak they were mending.

Leia snorted, flicking her wings and sending new breezes outwards across the desert. “I _am.”_ There was no mention made of her previous attempts, all of which had ended with the young dragon sprawled in some ungainly position upon the desert sands.

“And I believe you, but tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today. Now, would you get out the cadril flowers and my metal pot, please? We’re going to get started on dinner as soon as I finish this.”

The young dragon huffed, but moved to do as she was asked. “...can we add the rest of the womprat meat too?”

“Of course we can.”

-Mighty One-

Leia did not fly the next day. She did, however, climb to the top of a nearby mountain and jump off it, gliding along the air currents in a downward spiral to return to her parent’s side. Ekkreth smiled and offered appropriate praise, before asking if she wished for instruction, or desired to figure out the intricacies of flight for herself.

“It is a challenge,” the young dragon answered. “One I intend to win for myself.”

“Then I wish you all the best,” Ekkreth replied. “Now come, we’re going to fix tarmish tonight to celebrate.”

Leia perked up at the mention of dumplings, and happily followed her parent back to their camp.

-Mighty One-

Two days after her first proper flying attempt, Leia waited until she felt a particular wind blow across the desert and against her scales. She let it lift her wings, filling the membranes to tautness and stirring a half-remembered sensation in her veins. With a roar, she jumped - and hovered, perfectly still. When the wind began to flag, she flapped her wings, pushing higher and higher, pausing every so often to let a new gust hold her suspended in the sky. Ekkreth watched from below, cheering every time their daughter achieved more height.

When her parent was but a speck upon the ground, Leia folded her wings in close and dove straight down. Heat sang in her heart, and mere moments away from impacting the sand, she opened her wings and let it loose.

Flames of gold and auburn ignited against the sand, warming the air and creating a backdraft that slowed Leia’s descent. She still landed heavily, but on all four feet. The success caused her to screech triumphantly and release another bout of fire.

“If you set my clothes alight we are going to have _words,_ young one!” The laughter in Ekkreth’s voice was at odds with their reprimand, though, and both they and Leia remained in a cheerful mood the rest of the day.

-Mighty One-

Slowly but surely, Leia added to her skillset, and soon enough she truly was flying - over the desert, through the canyons, around the mountains. Once certain their daughter wouldn’t grow huffy over it, Ekkreth began to join her in their favorite form as Tavekriti, the little red bird with grey wings. Their journeys extended further and farther than ever before, and the pair caused a great many tales to take spark in the hearts and minds of those who saw them.

Eventually, Leia grew big enough that the top of Ekkreth’s head only came up to her knees, and they knew that their time spent together in constant company had come to a close. The Skywalker needed to return to the Great Mother’s Children, to spread their stories and share new knowledge - and their Daughter needed to discover her own purpose.

“I will never be far should you need me, dear Parent,” the great dragon rumbled, curling around Ekkreth and nuzzling them softly. “And tell the People not to fear if they see my wings against the sky, for they are my little siblings, and my love for you extends to them as well.”

When the pair finally parted, Leia let loose a roar that caused the world itself to tremble - all except for Ekkreth, who watched with pride and fierce joy as their daughter took flight, the light reflecting off of white scales practically turning her huge form into a third sun.

That very night, the shapeshifter joined a large family around their campfire, and told them a story of wind and fire and bone coming together into a single being, drawing a new symbol into the sand as they did so - the paw and claws of their daughter, sweeping downward.

“Who is this great creature?” The people asked. “What names and titles do we call her?”

And Ekkreth smiled. “She is Leia, your Elder Sister, and she needs no other name but that.”


End file.
